Get to Know: Florida A&M Continues Rigorous Schedule in Lexington

The Rattlers have already played some perennial college basketball programs this season.

Kentucky basketball has one final tune-up before the beginning of Southeastern Conference play, in the form of the Florida A&M Rattlers. 

Coming out of the SWAC, FAMU is taking part in the second annual Unity Series and is looking for what would be the biggest upset of the season. The No. 19 Wildcats are seeking any-and-all positives after a shattering 63-53 loss to UCLA last Saturday. 

Here's what you need to know about the Rattlers:

• KenPom Rating: 358 (out of 363 Division I programs)
• Selected to finish 5th in the SWAC Preseason Poll
• Kentucky leads all-time series 1-0, played in Round of 64 in 2004 NCAA Tournament, Wildcats won 96-76 
• UK is a 38.5-point favorite. Cats are 4-6 against the spread, FAMU 4-3. 

Follow along with Wildcats Today Lead Editor Hunter Shelton on Twitter for live game coverage.

The Record (2-7)

Notable Games: 

• Nov. 7: 45-80 L @ Oregon 
• Nov. 11: 43-60 L @ Oregon State 
• Nov. 15: 61-87 L @ Miami FL 
• Nov. 30: 62-102 L @ Florida 
• Dec. 2: 46-68 L @ Georgia 
• Dec. 17: 55-61 L @ Louisville

• The Rattlers have played against a Power Five rotation of for practically the whole season, so the 2-7 record is a tiny bit misleading. Six of their seven L's have come to P5 programs, with the other coming to Portland, who's a KenPom top-120 team. 
• After taking on UK, FAMU has one more big road trip to West Lafayette to take on the current No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers on Dec. 29. 
• The Rattlers' strength of schedule is the fifth toughest in the nation. 

Tale of the Tape

Head Coach Robert McCullum 

• McCullum is in his sixth season as FAMU head coach
• Has led the Rattlers to a winning conference record for four straight seasons (18-19, 19-20, 20-21, 21-22).
• In 2021-22, McCullum coached the Rattlers to a fourth place finish with a 11-7 record. During the season, the Rattlers won seven games in a row, longest since 88-89 season. 
• McCullum also coach MJ Randolph to earn the SWAC Player of the Year award and First Team All-SWAC. 
• FAMU is his third head-coaching gig in D1. Previously skippered at Western Michigan (2000-03) and South Florida (2003-07).

Player Notes and Stats

• Junior guard Jordan Tillmon leads the way averaging 10 PPG. He plays 34.8 minutes-per-game, easily the highest on the team.
• Junior forward Jaylen Bates provides 9.6 PPG and a team-best 7.1 RPG. He shoots 3-pointers at 38 percent. 
• As a team, FAMU is shooting 26.85 percent from behind the arc, the 347th-best mark in the nation. 
• The Rattlers' 8.3 assists-per-game is No. 351 in the land, while 17.9 turnovers-per-game is 349th. 
• The Rattlers lose their top seven players from the 2021-22 season, including the SWAC Player of the Year MJ Randolph. There are 11 newcomers on this season's team. 

Full FAMU Stat box

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. EST. 

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